


SURVIVORS

by RenaChan111



Category: Original Work
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Birds, Cats, Dogs, Fantasy, Multi, Post-Apocalypse, Science Fiction, Thriller
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:42:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28779207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RenaChan111/pseuds/RenaChan111
Summary: Having traded one hell for another in the form of the apocalypse, Dawn Callahan — a recombinant life form known as a Shifter — has to now leave her home in the wake of her brother’s death with her goal being to get to the community known as Skadi in order to find some sense of peace. However, this plan is thrown out the window when she’s attacked by a Ghoul and rescued by her savior from twelve years ago who offers her a place in his group and a chance opportunity to find New Haven — a rumored paradise for their kind.





	1. PROLOGUE

**A Letter to Those Concerned**

My name is Dawn. Dawn Callahan, and I’m not entirely human. Ninety-eight percent of my DNA is Homosapien while the remaining two percent is Canis Lupus Familiaris, or Belgian Malinois if you want to get technical. This means that I have the ears and tail of the breed, and can also somehow shape-shift into it as well. I don’t know how that’s possible, but it does explain why we're called Shifters.

I, along with many others which included my older brother Michael, were created in a place known as the Kennels. I don’t kid when I say it was hell on earth.

The scientists—who grafted Felis Catus and Avian DNA onto subjects as well—said that they created us to help make the world a better place. That’s why we were apart of the Guardian Project, they’d say. But I think it was just an excuse so they could play god.

Many had tried to escape their clutches. Some died from the gunshot wounds made by the guards ordered to put them down, others were recaptured and placed into another bout of tests. No one knows what truly happened to them once the doors to the operating room closed.

Michael and I had tried to escape once. We made it as far as the open field the guards would sometimes make us run laps in before he took a bullet to the leg. He wasn’t taken away to the operating room, thank god, but he was left in agony for three days.

" _That’ll teach you to run, freak!_ " The guard who’d brought us in had sneered.

I wasn't taken away for my role in the escape attempt either, but instead was deprived of food for a few days. Apparently, it was supposed to help me appreciate all the Kennels offered me, or at least that was what the woman who fed us said. 

I didn’t believe her then and still don't now. An empty, constantly growling stomach is _never_ a fair trade for gratitude.

Months had passed since then and we'd done everything in our power to go unnoticed by the guards _and_ keep the temptation of running as far back in our minds as possible.

We’d go through grueling training, sit through painful tests and listen to the dying screams of our fellow test subjects day in and day out.

Then, one day, our routine changed when four subjects came to us. I don’t remember much about the others, but the leader of this group was Subject 004607M—a golden retriever shifter who had a reputation for being a mischievous, ever present thorn in the sides of both the guards and scientists alike if their loud complaints were to be believed.

He was the one that helped us. He was the one that dropped a makeshift key into my hand. And he did it all with a smile, seemingly unbothered by the blaring alarms that went off around us, as he looked to me and said five simple words that would forever have me moving forward.

"Kids don’t belong in cages."

We never looked back as we tiptoed our way to freedom.

It’s been three years since that happened. In that time, the world’s changed. And I don’t mean for the better since thanks to a mind altering parasite, people became flesh eating monsters who would later be dubbed Ghouls by the survivors.

It’s not all bad, however since man—ever the resourceful creature—has adapted to this new world by building communities known as Zones that are named after gods and goddesses from the Norse pantheon. They dot what’s left of North Carolina, though that doesn’t necessarily mean everyone uses them. I know Michael and I didn’t.

But now, with him being dead for a month, that’s all about to change since the Ghouls are getting too close to my home for comfort and if I want to survive I have to leave it behind. So with a heavy heart, I pack my things and prepare to leave.


	2. CHAPTER ONE

**Reunited**

"Today's the day, Michael." I said to the cross that marked my brothers resting place. It was handmade out two thick branches that were tied together with an old piece of rope. On the vertical branch was his name while the horizontal one displayed his birthday, September thirteenth. There wasn't a birth year since it wasn't a necessity when the world's ended.

"I'm finally going to leave home," I continued. "Though I wish I didn't have to, but it's for survival." I looked towards the cave that served as our—I mean my—home. It was a fairly large space that was carved into the side of hill. 

"Besides, I know for a fact that you would've wanted us to leave if you were still here," I said with a ghost of a smile claiming my lips. "You'd say 'I'd rather find a new home free of monsters than stubbornly defend one that's filled with them.'" 

A quiet laugh escaped me as I felt tears beginning to brim in the corner of my eyes. I desperately whiped them away with a choked sob. 

"I miss you so much, Michael," I blubbered as more tears began to form. This time, they traitorsly rolled down my cheeks faster than I could clear them. 

_Dammit! I told myself I'd be strong, that I wouldn't cry over our second goodbye!_ I bitterly thought as I fell to my knees. I clutched desperately at the amethyst shard that hung around my neck via a leather cord. 

Michael had found a geod of it while hunting. He couldn't bring the entire thing with him and settled for breaking off a few pieces instead. Most went towards trading while this one was a present for my fourteenth birthday.

"It'll protect you when I'm not around," He said with a smile. "So don't lose it okay?"

 _How is a fancy rock supposed to protect me?!_ My mind screeched as my tears dotted the snow. _Yours didn't protect you from getting sick!_

I shook my head with a growl as memories of him lying in agony on his sleeping bag flitted through my mind. 

"Get a grip, Dawn!" I chided myself. "Michael wouldn't want you thinking of the bad things that happened to him. He would want you to think of the good times you shared and move on." 

I looked towards the sky. It was free of clouds and the sun was slowly making its journey to the center. The afternoon was fast approaching.

A scoff escaped me as I pulled myself to my feet. My tears were slowly drying, but that didn't ease the pain I felt in my heart.

"Yeah, that's easier said than done."

/-/

The snow crunched loudly beneath my feet as I moved through the forest. Occasionally, my boot would be swallowed when I got caught in a particularly thick patch.

 _I won't give you the satisfaction, Jack Frost!_ I thought, growling a bit as I shook clumps of white powder from my jeans. 

"Of all the days I plan to move to a bigger Zone, winter just had to intervene," I groaned. "Though I guess it's not totally the season's fault, seeing as mother nature will keep working no matter how bad the world gets."

I continued forward, any frustrated growls I'd let slip from my throat dying down as the snow got thinner and thinner until I'd reached a stream hidden away in a thicket. The water—which mirrored the glossy shade of a crow's feather—flowed over the half submerged stones at a steady pace. I found myself staring at my reflection and couldn't help smiling at what I saw.

Long, somewhat messy hair that was the color of fresh honey coupled with a fair complexion that was lightly dotted with freckles as well as doe brown eyes and a pair of tall fawn colored, black tipped ears poking out from the top of my head.

"It's just like Michael's." I muttered as I slipped a silver canteen free from a pouch on my bag. The water felt cool against against my fingers as I listened to the water quietly gurgle, though that didn't stop me from keeping my guard up.

Suddenly, my ears twitched at the sound of a twig snapping to my left. I immediately capped my bottle and put it back in place. My muscles tensed as I freed my hunting knife from the bomber jacket I wore, my knuckles growing white from how tightly I was gripping the handle as my tail lashed back and forth. 

_Remember your training, Dawn_ I told myself as I watched the bushes rustle _Stand your ground, don't show any fear and run if necessary_

The rustling grew louder with each passing second. As it echoed in my ears, I felt a cold sweat beginning to grow on the back of neck as I mentally psyched myself up to fight whatever this thing was or die trying.

With a final shake, the bushes parted to reveal...a squirrel? It tilted its head as it gazed at me before chattering and scampering off.

"It was just a squirrel, Dawn," I told myself with a chuckle. "It can't hurt you." 

Then, I heard it. An ear piercing screech that caused the birds that were hidden in the trees to take flight and the smaller, more cautious animals to squeak in alarm as they ran away.

That was the call of a ghoul. I felt my muscles growing tense as I allowed myself to shift.

Now, to those on the outside looking in, the process of going from a bipedal form to a smaller, more quadruped one may seem painful, but it actually isn't. It's really just an extreme warmth engulfing you alongside a dim light that could be any color. My light was a pale yellow.

With my transformation complete in only a minute, I shook out my fur, taking in the lovely sight of its fawn coloring and the bits of black the covered my muzzle that was reflected by the water before lowering myself into a crouch.

My teeth were bared in a snarl, which was soon drowned out by the groan that made its way out of the tall, very broad ghoul that shambled out of the brush.

My eyes narrowed as I twitched my nose in disgust at the scent of blood and rotten flesh that wafted off of its gray, raggedy clothed body. With a growl, I sprinted forward and leapt for its throat.

An attack like this wouldn't kill it—as the only way to truly kill a ghoul was to destroy its brain—but it would distract it long enough for me to grab my bag and run.

However, as I began to tug at its throat in an attempt to wrench it free, I felt its hands latch around my neck in a vice-like grip before finding myself slamming into the ground, the air in my lungs completely knocked out.

An almost breathless gasp escaped me as I felt myself being choked. Immediately I began to wriggle and thrash in a feeble attempt to escape, but felt the ghouls fingers digging deeper into my fur as a result. I noted the gleeful look it had in its milky eyes as it continued to add pressure.

 _Well, it looks like this is it,_ I thought as I felt tears running down my cheeks. _This is where I die and no one's going to know_

Then, just as I resigned myself to death's cold embrace, a loud crack filled the air. A hoarse groan escaped the ghoul as it fell backward with a large hole forming in its forehead.

Once it was staring blankly at the sky and I had gotten my fill of air, I turned to see two boys that looked to be around my age stepping out from the other side of the river. 

The first was of average height with messy blonde hair that nearly hid the matching ears on his head. He wore a loss colored sweater that was hidden under a weather bomber jacket and black jeans that were tucked into a pair of brown boots.

The boy at his side was tall—far taller than me—with an olive complexion and short chocolate colored hair that matched his aloof gaze. His ears twitched a bit as he slung the shotgun he carried over his trench coat clad shoulder and kicked away the shell with one of his red and gray sneakers.

The blondes mismatched eyes, with the left being brown and the right being a bright blue, gleamed with mischief as he smile at me. 

"You're 004607M," I muttered. "You're the one that freed me and my brother."

"I am," He replied, his grin getting bigger as he came to stand before me. "But I prefer the name Garret Oz these days." He then reached out a hand to me. 

"Mind if I help you up, 009583U?" He asked. With a grin, I shifted back and took the offered appendage. 

"It's Dawn Callahan actually." I said.


End file.
